Lionel Messi, on the hunt for goal No 650
The Argentine forward is back in La Liga as Barca welcome Athletic Bilbao
Lionel Messi can, on Sunday, reach 650 goals for Barcelona. A number he can hit in his 755th game. A barbarity, only in reach of the chosen few. Messi netted his first goal against Albacete on 1 May 2005, and has not stopped breaking records since.
He has 649 to his name. 650 might have come at Vallecas where he missed a chance in the 91st minute. Instead of scoring he tried to emulate Maradona in 1981 with a dribble and narrowly missed.
The first was set up by Ronaldinho, who carried Messi as a celebration. Goal 500 was in overtime at the Santiago Bernabeu, a 3-2 win he celebrated by famously showing his shirt to the fans. A classic Clasico image now.
Goal 600 was also special, in the Champions League semis, against Liverpool. It looked like Barca were through, 3-0, but the second leg told another story.
At Camp Nou he has 481 goals in 369 games. Barca’s record scorer there and home and away too. He has 1.03 goals per game at Camp Nou. Away he has 252 in 361 games. In neutral territory he has played 24 games and scored 16 goals. He has 455 goals in La Liga, far ahead of second place Zarra on 251, and 118 in the Champions League, behind Cristiano Ronaldo on 134.
On top of 649 goals in official games, he has 37 in friendlies for Barca.
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